20+ Pros And Cons Of Hitchhiking (Explained)

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Hitchhiking is famous and one of the free ways by which you can travel from one place to another without spending your money. 

Well, here you ask people or stranger drivers to let you travel with them or take you to the destination. It’s a free form for traveling. 

This is an adventure and a lot of fun, but it does have different advantages and disadvantages that are important to understand. 

So if you are planning to go for your first hitchhiking, you should consider the pros and cons you might face. And to understand those, here is what can help. 

Advantages Of Hitchhiking 

Hitchhiking is no doubt one of the most exciting means to travel, and it allows you to get around by catching a different ride from passing committers. 

These are some of the adventures that people seek, and it can depend on the traveling you are going for. 

I/C: Reasons To Go For Hitchhiking 

  • Meet locals 
  • It’s cheap
  • Travel where public transportation is not available
  • Social activity 
  • Gives spiritual experience
  • Learn about places
  • Build your character 
  • Being humble and kind
  • Learn new language 

Some significant advantages make this means to travel interesting, and it includes : 

It Helps In Saving Lot Of Money 

One of the best aspect of hitchhiking is that it helps in saving a lot of money. 

Traveling can be costly, and a significant part of the money is spent on transportation. Renting cars and spending money on gas and other modes of transport take a toll on the budget. 

Well, it depends on the traveling you are going for and the destination. But hitchhiking can help in saving money spent on transportation. 

It Is Common All Across The Globe

Hitchhiking is not just popular in one part but all across the world. So it’s not limited to the US. If you are not traveling in a car, it can be easy to get through hitchhike in Europe. 

There are different sides of the world since they are often friendly and take you on board. 

Here you don’t have to own a car to travel, as you can quickly get help. 

It Has become Increasingly Popular. 

Another upside you are getting from hitchhiking has become more and more popular in the last few years. 

There are more and more people who are getting used to hitchhiking. It is getting socially accepted, so more people are willing to give ride to hitchhikers. 

Hitchhiking Is Adventours 

The purpose of hitchhiking is one of the adventurous ways of traveling. There are a lot of people who look forward to facing different challenges that make their trip memorable. 

People seek adventures from one place to another, apart from it helps in giving thrills are much more beneficial. 

It Is Completely Free 

Hitchhiking is primarily free. This also helps you enjoy traveling, making it free of cost. 

This concept is to go from one place to another; however, you are not spending money. With this, it can help in saving money and a lot of it on spending on rent. 

You Can Meet The Locals 

When you are walking down the street, there are high chances that you can end up meeting new people and locals. 

Some of these experiences lead to much more lasting relationships. When you go hitchhiking, you are bound to meet people who are all strangers. 

This leads to meeting the locals who can show you the side of the city or places you are traveling to, which is not possible when you are traveling with other media. 

Making a friend and sharing experiences help in making your trip much more enjoyable.

It Allows Your To Socialize 

If you like to socialize, hitchhiking is for you to consider. It allows you to associate and make friendships, leading to contracting more people and networking.

Since you travel with new people you have not met before and seem to, this also gives a great way to meet people from different places and social classes. 

You can learn about the world and people and learn about different cultures. 

It Is An Exciting 

To those people who like to feel the excitement in life, hitchhiking can help you in getting that feeling. 

Many people prefer this because it makes the whole thing more interesting as you don’t know what you will see. 

It Makes You Flexible 

One more benefit you get from hitchhiking is it allows you to have more flexibility in general. 

If you are doing it frequently, here you will learn about all sorts of problems that hitchhikers face. 

When you master those issues, it will make you much more relaxed and in control. 

Hitchhiking Helps In Character Growth 

In general, it also helps in growing your character and as a person. 

Here you can meet people from different cultural backgrounds and places. It helps you get a different perspective about life and things that make you understand more that can’t be possible without it. 

So it helps in your character growth, making you more understanding towards people and life. 

It Helps In Getting Out Of Comfort Zone 

Hitchhiking is not comfortable, especially if you are going for the first time. However, it is excellent training if you want to get out of your comfort zone. 

There might be unexpected situations and issues where you have to move forwards even though it’s not comfortable. 

It’s an excellent opportunity to learn about yourself and how you manage situations that are not in your favor. 

You Learn Adaptation Of Different Situations

In general, hitchhiking can be a great way to help you learn new adaptations to situations. 

Suppose you are a relatively inflexible person who is not comfortable when new things happen, and change happens. Hitchhiking can be training that can push you to your comfort zone. 

So it helps you in leading with no choice but to adapt to the situations. 

Suitable For People Those Who Don’t Have Vehicles 

Hitchhiking can be a good option if you are looking to travel but have no vehicles on your own. Here you don’t need to have owned any car as you can ask people to give you a free ride and it can help in traveling from one place to another. 

Disadvantage Of Hitchhiking 

Hitchhiking is adventurous. However, there are different reasons why some people don’t prefer it. Because of this, you must know the disadvantages of hitchhiking. 

It includes : 

It Is Risky 

One of the biggest problems of hitchhiking is that it’s risky. Not just that, you never know whether fellow passengers you meet will be pleasant or dodgy. 

If you make a wrong choice and end up getting in the car with a stranger, this can be pretty dangerous. 

It’s Not Safest Option For Women 

Different accidents happened in the past, especially when it comes to women. You should be careful and know how to defend just in case of some energy. 

You must be aware of how you are staying safe when you are traveling. 

I/C: Tips To Make Hitchking Less Risky For Women 

  • Pick a country or place smartly
  • Know your destination
  • Make a sign 
  • Say no 
  • Dress accordingly 
  • Send license plate number
  • Avoid major cities
  • Consider more people hitchhiking 

You Don’t Know Them.

In general, you are often unaware of whom you will meet. And if you don’t like being with someone you are not familiar with and travel regularly, then you won’t like hitchhiking too. 

Since you meet different people, they can treat you differently and might not be a comfortable person to travel with. 

It Makes You Much Lesser Flexible 

To those who are going hitchhiking instead of having your vehicle, it can make your traveling less flexible in detours or structuring your day.

If you have your vehicle, it gives you the freedom to go whenever you want and also make stops whenever you like. 

When you are going hitchhiking, it makes you dependent on drivers. Also, it depends on drivers on where they can make a stop. This limits the things and opportunities for you.

Depending On Driver 

Another major disadvantage you get here is that when you are going hitchhiking, you depend entirely on the driver. They can be a good driver who lets you make stops or moody ones. 

This can be a problem, especially when they have poor driving skills. 

This can make you feel uncomfortable and not safe enough to travel. 

You Might Not Get Along With Other Hitchhikers 

You might get some other hitchhikers along with you, and this might make you deal with other people who can be annoying. 

So if you don’t like to talk with other people when you are going on a trip, then you should avoid doing it.

It Can Be Uncomfortable 

In general, this is not that uncomfortable, especially when you are new to this. 

This can be uncomfortable when you are going hitchhiking. This leads to a pretty poor experience that leads to having better cars. 

There Are More Options 

While hitchhiking is interesting, there are different options that you can try for traveling. There are various ways of moving and seeing things. 

Here you have more options, and hitchhiking cannot be that attractive for you if you don’t like dealing with random people and asking for trips. 

You can also consider carpooling services or consider Uber to reach your destination. 

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